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Georges (Rush) St. Pierre won a dominant unanimous decision over Nick Diaz in the main event of UFC 158 in Montreal Saturday.

St. Pierre wasted no time taking Diaz to the mat, alternating strikes to the body and head. Diaz rolled to his knees but St. Pierre remained heavy on his back. GSP chipped away with punches, forcing Diaz to switch to his back. He continued to elbow Diaz, who returned to his knees but still couldn't shake St. Pierre.

Then Rush transitioned to back control, but quickly abandoned it to retain top position. Diaz returned to his feet, but St. Pierre delivered another massive slam before time expired in the frame.

Diaz attempted to get his stand-up game going in the second, but was taken down near the one-minute mark.

St. Pierre peppered Diaz with jabs in the third, before executing another takedown. Diaz returned to his feet. Diaz landed a stiff body shot — his best punch of the fight up to that point. St. Pierre landed a straight right and shot in for a takedown, but Diaz defended it.

He countered by stumbling St. Pierre with a right hook and began to find a home for more punches. Still, Diaz wound up back on the mat by the end of the frame.

Diaz backed St. Pierre up to start the fourth, but St. Pierre kept him at bay with jabs. St. Pierre landed his first takedown of the round and followed it up with a slam after Diaz stood up. Diaz attempted to dive into a kimura, but GSP avoided the submission.

St. Pierre clinched Diaz against the cage and the two exchanged knees to the body in the fifth. The two separated, but Diaz slipped on a high-kick attempt, allowing St. Pierre to take top position.

Diaz eventually scrambled to a standing position. The two clinched again, trading more knees to the body. St. Pierre charged for a takedown, tagging Diaz with punches as the fight came to a close. Surprisingly, the two hugged after the horn sounded.

All three judges scored it 50-45 for St. Pierre.

“I didn't want to fight in the boxing ring with him,” St. Pierre said. “He is the best boxer in MMA. His jiu jitsu is phenomenal.

“When you fight a guy like this, it's almost impossibe to get ready for that.”

During the lead up to the fight, Diaz attempted to get inside St. Pierre's head, accusing him of using steroids, among other things.

St. Pierre said he didn't take Diaz's comments to heart.

“I want to say something to Nick Diaz: you did a good job promoting the fight,” St. Pierre said. “Everybody, he's a good guy. Nick is a good guy.

“I never took it personally. Nick is a veteran. He was in the UFC before me. I'm actually a big fan of Nick Diaz. He is one of my favourite guys to watch.”

A disappointed Diaz said he's retiring from mixed martial arts.

“I just want to thank Georges St. Pierre for giving me the credit I like to think I deserve,” Diaz said. “I don't want to make excuses, but I think I'm done with mixed martial arts. I'm tired of getting banged up like this.

“I've been thinking it through for while now. I've been trying to get out of this for a while.”

The bout between St. Pierre and Diaz has been almost two years in the making, as they were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 137 in 2011. However, after Diaz no-showed at press conferences in Las Vegas and Toronto, he was stripped of his title shot. Carlos Condit stepped in, but St. Pierre bowed out due to knee injury.

Diaz stayed on, winning a thrilling unanimous decision over B.J. Penn, before calling out St. Pierre.

An enraged St. Pierre then demanded a bout with the Stockton, Calif. native.

The two were rebooked for UFC 143 in early 2012, but St. Pierre was forced to go under the knife to repair a torn ACL. Diaz remained on the card, but came up short in capturing the interim welterweight title, losing a controversial unanimous decision to Condit. Following the bout, Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites and was suspended one year.

St. Pierre unified the belts upon his return to the cage, winning a unanimous decision over Condit at UFC 154 in November. Many speculated he would then face top contender Johny Hendricks, who knocked out Martin Kampmann that same night, but St. Pierre once again pushed to fight Diaz.

With the Diaz fight over with, Johny Hendricks is now next in line for welterweight after winning a thrilling unanimous decision over Carlos Condit in the co-main event.

Georges St. Pierre retains his title against Nick Diaz

Georges (Rush) St. Pierre won a dominant unanimous decision over Nick Diaz in the main event of UFC 158 in Montreal Saturday.

St. Pierre wasted no time taking Diaz to the mat, alternating strikes to the body and head. Diaz rolled to his knees but St. Pierre remained heavy on his back. GSP chipped away with punches, forcing Diaz to switch to his back. He continued to elbow Diaz, who returned to his knees but still couldn't shake St. Pierre.

Then Rush transitioned to back control, but quickly abandoned it to retain top position. Diaz returned to his feet, but St. Pierre delivered another massive slam before time expired in the frame.

Diaz attempted to get his stand-up game going in the second, but was taken down near the one-minute mark.

St. Pierre peppered Diaz with jabs in the third, before executing another takedown. Diaz returned to his feet. Diaz landed a stiff body shot — his best punch of the fight up to that point.